IS-2000 requires a mobile requesting the setup of a packet data application requiring multiple service instances to originate each of the services instances sequentially. If a traffic channel has not been assigned to a mobile, the mobile will first send an Origination Message (ORM) to the base station (BS) followed by an Enhanced Origination Message (EOM) for each of the additional service instances required to support the application. If a traffic channel has already been assigned to a mobile, the mobile sends an EOM for each of the additional service instances required to support the application.
For reconnection of a packet data application that is dormant, IS-2000 allows a mobile to request the reactivation of a single packet data service instance by including the service reference identifier (i.e., the SR_ID) for the service instance in the ORM/EOM, or the mobile may request reactivation of all dormant service instances in the mobile by setting the SR_ID field to “7” (per IS-2000-C). If the mobile requires the reactivation of more than one, but not all dormant service instances in the mobile, the mobile is required to send multiple ORM/EOM, one for each of the dormant service instances required by the packet data application.
Moreover, when a handoff is required for dormant packet data service instances, IS-2000 requires the mobile to send multiple ORM/EOM to the BS to request a handoff for each of the dormant service instances in the mobile. Each message includes an SR_ID and service option field associated with a single service instance.
The use of multiple messages for these service requests wastes valuable air interface resources and increases the overall delay to complete the service requests. Thus, a need exists for an apparatus and method to support multiple packet data service instances in a more efficient manner.